


Various Cottagecore Ficlets

by i_amthecosmos



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Attraction, Carlos can be a little shit, Cuddling & Snuggling, Friendship, Multi, adult au, domestic fic, real world AU, the jr vks have fun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2020-11-24 12:13:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 9,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20907482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_amthecosmos/pseuds/i_amthecosmos
Summary: A group of short ficlets from a list of prompts I found on tumblr.





	1. Sleeping In

**Author's Note:**

> This is just going to be shameless cuteness. Various pairings, no pairings, going to try to get one up every day if I can. (Probably won't happen but I'll try.)

_Maybe we should sleep in/Make you banana pancakes, pretend like it’s the weekend_

Carlos woke up slowly. He was warm and safe, in a big bed. These were things he never took for granted. So he drifted in half-sleep for a while until he realized that the light was slanted differently than usual. 

“Jay! Shit!” He struggled to get up, hard to manage because Jay tended to turn into an octopus in the night. He would just wrap around him. “Jay! We’re late!” Carlos wriggled, and Jay’s grip loosened as he woke up.

“Huh?” Jay said, Jay blinked a couple of times, then let go, sitting up in bed. Carlos sprung up, running his hands through his hair and hoping he had enough time to get to work. “Are we really late?” 

“We have to be, it’s almost ten!” Carlos started to try to figure out the fastest way to work, if he could skip the shower. Meanwhile while Jay just checked his phone. “Jay, come on, we are to get-”

“Carlos,” Jay said, smiling at him. “We don’t have to go into work. It’s Reunification Day.”

“Huh?” Carlos had forgotten about it. Reunification Day-the anniversary of the day the Isle was freed. A holiday that he had a part in creating, in a way. And he’d forgotten. “Shit. Shit, it is.” Carlos sat on the bed as his adrenaline ran out. “But...don’t we have to be somewhere? Like, at one of those fancy royal balls or assemblies or something?” He’d been to dozens of these things now, and they still seemed weird to him. He liked them in a way, since he got to dress fancy, but they still made him feel odd. Not like Mal and Evie, who seemed at home there.

“We don’t have to be anywhere until four pm,” Jay said. “We’ll have to dress up, but that’s no big deal. You can get us both ready in no time. Come back to bed.” Jay smiled at him, holding an arm out. “Sleep a little more. Then I’ll fix breakfast.”

“It’s the only meal you can fix, so sure.” Carlos got back into bed, smiling. “Fix pancakes.” Jay cuddled Carlos to him, kissing Carlos’s neck. Carlos sighed. Jay knew how to make him feel good. 

“Okay. I’ll even put chocolate chips in them.” Carlos giggled. “Okay, rest now.” Carlos let the warmth of Jay’s body relax him, until he was half-asleep again, drifting softly.


	2. Breakfast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hangovers require greasy food. At least Uma thinks so. Post Descendants 3 by a year or so.

“Uhnnngh,” Mal said, from her seat on the couch. She had staggered in and immediately sat there, head in her hands, making Evie have to move her legs. “My head hurts.”

“Shouldn’t have had all that wine,” Evie said, although she was basically in the same boat. Visiting with Uma and the (former) pirates always meant a lot of wine and a lot of mead, if Harry had made some that month. Evie sat up from the pile of blankets that had been thrown over her. Jay and Carlos were in the corner on the floor, still asleep. 

Ben came out of one of the bedrooms, looking very un-kinglike in his boxers and a tank top. His hair was sticking up in all directions. “Water,” he said. 

“Hold on,” said a voice from the kitchen, just this side of too loud. “We’re fixing breakfast. Harry, get the king some water.” Mal watched blearily as Harry came through with a pitcher of water and some glasses. Ben took the first one and finished it quickly. Mal took the next. 

“Here ye are, we’ll have food available shortly. We have juice if you’d prefer, or maybe the hair o’ the dog?” Harry seemed to revel in playing host ever since he, Uma and Gil got their cottage by the sea. Harry went over to Carlos and Jay, who where slowly waking up. “What about you two?”

“Uh, juice. Orange if you have it. And maybe something for the headache.” Jay sat up, Carlos still slumped on his chest. “And get Los some juice too.” 

“By ‘something’ I assume you mean pills, not another drink. Yes, be right back.” Harry put the pitcher on the table, and Ben helped himself to a second glass before pouring one for Evie. 

“Wonder what they’re fixing,” Mal said just when Harry came back with Jay and Carlo’s drinks and a bottle of pills. 

“Smells like they’re cooking a lot,” Evie said, as her stomach roiled. “I just want toast.” 

“Nonsense,” Uma said, her head sticking out of the kitchen. She looked way too chipper after the night they’d had. “A good greasy breakfast will set you up right. We’ve got fish cakes, eggs, bacon, fried bread, and Gil is making waffles.” Evie groaned. 

_”Toast”_ she said, curling back in her pile of blankets, feet in Mal’s lap. “I can’t handle greasy food the morning after. Give it to Jay, he can.”

“True,” Jay said, sounding perky already after finishing his juice. Carlos was just sipping his, and taking some of the headache pills. “I’ll eat cheeseburgers if you had them.” Carlos nodded.

“Ugh.” Mal shook her head and then grimaced. “I’m with Evie. Plain bread please. And some of those pills.” Carlos tossed her the bottle, then flopped back down on the pillow. 

“You guys are lightweights,” Uma said. “But fine, I’ve got your dry toast. I hope the rest of you will at least try some of what we fixed. Since we’re being so nice and all.” 

“You don’t seem hungover at all Uma,” Ben said. “Or Harry or Gil either.”

“That’s because we’re used to Isle rum, and the liquor you have here is for wee lads and ladies,” Harry said, grinning wickedly. “Nothing to us.” Mal glared at him.

“I hate it when I’m reminded that Auradon has made me soft,” Jay said. 

“What he said,” Mal agreed. “Okay, fine. We’re soft. Give me my toast.”

“Got it here,” Gil said, bringing in two plates, and gave them to Mal and Evie. “Uh, Ben, what would you like?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “I didn’t have any plans other than the water. Maybe I’ll try your waffles?” That got him a big grin and Gil hurried back to get another plate. 

“I don’t really want to eat at all,” Carlos said. “But I’ll have some toast and eggs. It might help.” Carlos kissed Jay on the cheek, then got up slowly to sit at the table. Ben and Jay followed him, sitting at the huge table Gil had made himself from wood he’d scavenged. (Isle habits died hard.)

Mal and Evie stayed where they were, not wanting to get too close to the smell of of the food. Gil and Harry brought in the food, with coffee and more water. “Here ye are, eat up lads.” Ben picked at his waffles. Carlos ate his toast and eggs slowly. Jay gobbled down some of everything with two cups of coffee. 

After a while, Mal got up and moved slowly walked to the kitchen. “Evie, can you handle some coffee?” 

Evie sat up again. “Get me a small cup please.” Mal came back in two two cups and they sat on the couch with the blankets arranged around them, and sipped their coffees. 

Ben, to his surprise, finished two waffles. “Thank you,” he said to Uma, who was eating her fishcakes and bacon. “For your hospitality.” 

Uma smiled. “Not a problem. Always good to have friends over. Especially since we’ve all been working so hard on making things right.” They had all met up at the pirate’s house after a long week of Council meetings. That was why the booze had seemed like a good idea.

“Right,” Evie said. “I don’t even what to think much about it. It’ll just give me a worse headache.” Some members of the council didn’t really care for Uma and her ideas. They had barely warmed to Mal.

“Whatever, we won them over on most of the main points at least.” Uma’s call for health care for the Isle was begrudgedly approved. “The medical clinic is a go.” 

“Yep,” Jay said. “And the sports leagues for the kids. Boys and girls.” Jay had put that together soon as he’d come back from his year with Gil. Even though he was in school, he still found time to coach occasionally. 

“Yeah. We did good work.” Carlos saluted Uma with his coffee cup. “Between you, Ben and Mal, we’ve got good leadership.” 

“We must be sobering up, if we’re talking about this and being coherent,” Ben said. “And thank you.” 

“No talking shop for the rest of the morning lads,” Harry said. “Let’s just eat. We can watch movies unless you all need to go.”

Nobody said much, since they knew they did have to go. Mal and Ben had to be King and Queen, Evie had her business and being a consultant to Ben, Jay and Carlos had school. But for now, they got to nurse hangovers and spend time with friends.


	3. Herb Garden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After coming to Auradon, Gil gets a new hobby.

Gil had never been an early riser before. But now that they were in Auradon, in a shared house with his other ex-pirates, Gil had to get up at dawn to check on his little babies. 

“Hey guys,” he said, going to the raised garden he had. He had never seen growing plants until he left the Isle. Then when he did, he wanted to learn all about them. 

He looked at the rosemary first, carefully weeding around it. He hadn’t know the difference between weeds and plants, Evie had to gently explain it to him. She had helped him the most with his small garden. 

Rosemary wasn’t hard to grow, and it smelled good. Harry hadn’t liked it at first, claiming it was too strong. He was used to bland, salty food, like the salt cod they had on the ship. But he was coming around, even saying it had tasted good on the pork roast they had all fixed one weekend. 

Gil clipped a bit of the rosemary for drying later. Then he turned his attention to his other babies. The sage wasn’t doing so well. He’d have to check his notes and see what he’d done wrong. The cilantro was growing like a weed, an expression he still thought was funny.

He checked his other plants-the basil, chamomile for tea, dill. He had mint too, but he’d been strongly encouraged to keep it in a pot far away from the other plants. Evie told him that mint would kill all his other babies if he didn’t keep it in essentially plant jail. That made him sad, but he did it anyway.

“Okay guys, see you tonight.” he said. He cleaned up the area around the garden, and took the tools over to wash. Gonzo was up by then, fixing coffee. “Hi.”

“How they doing?” Gonzo had quit making fun of him for his hobby after Uma had a word with him about it. He gave Gil a cup.

“They’re doing pretty good,” he said. “Maybe you should start a garden.”

“Nope, I’d kill them all if I did,” Gonzo said. “I’ll have to find something else to do. You know, I get it now. We’re not running for our lives anymore. We’ve got time to do things just for fun.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Gil said, nodding. Jonas was taking up woodworking. Harry made jewelry from shells and bones. Bonnie had gone for chainsaw sculpture. “I really like taking care of them. And they’re useful.”

“They do make food taste better,” Gonzo said. He started looking through the fridge. “Let’s fix breakfast and get these lazy shits out of bed.” Gil laughed. If he was up, maybe they should get up too. He got the eggs Gonzo handed him and got started.


	4. Animal Companion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carlos and Dude go for a walk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did it. I wrote the damn talking dog. I don't know who I am anymore.

Carlos was taking a break.

He was out near the picnic tables, trying to relax and enjoy his Sunday afternoon. He usually kept very busy, but he needed some down time. 

He had Dude with him, of course, and some popcorn that he was sharing. One for him, one for Dude. Some people seemed to think that was unsanitary. Dude didn’t seem to mind. 

“Come on, I want more popcorn,” Dude said. 

“You’ve had enough and so have I,” Carlos said. “Let’s go walk in the woods a little.” 

“Okay!” Then Dude took off, running towards the trees. Carlos groaned and ran to catch up with him. He caught up with Dude when he stopped to sniff a tree. That’s when he saw Gil out there, walking his own dog. 

“Hey!” Gil said. Gil’s little French bulldog Peanut went over to Dude and they sniffed each other in greeting. “How are you? Hey, I know you told me that Peanut won’t talk, but I gotta say I don’t really mind. She’s an angel.” 

“Yeah, she’s a good dog,” Carlos said. “Dude, don’t sniff her butt.”

“That’s what I do, I’m a dog!” Carlos rolled his eyes at Dude.

“Well, I don’t want you to!” Gil giggled. 

“Peanut argues with me too, but with barks.” He knelt down and scratched Peanut’s ears. “I’m trying to talk Uma into getting a cat. I know a dog is out.” 

“She doesn’t like dogs?” Carlos knew such people existed, but it was still a surprise. 

“She doesn’t want to pick up after them. She says at least a cat will poop on its own and you just have to throw the litter out. But she says she’s already too busy taking care of all of us.” Gil held his hand out and let Dude sniff it. “Good boy!”

“Tell her I said you guys don’t need taking care of like you used to.” Carlos watched as Dude let Gil scritch his ears, then went back to playing with Peanut. “Most of you are enrolled in school. She can relax a little.” 

“Uma? Relax? Nope.” Gil smiled at him. “Anyway, I have to get going. I don’t have any classes, I don’t think...”

“No classes on Sunday,” Carlos reminded him. 

“Yeah! But I need to meet Bonnie anyway. We’re working on a group project. Bye!” Carlos waved as Gil and Peanut left the forest. 

“You two are always so nice to them.” Carlos and Dude turned to find Jay in the forest. Carlos laughed and ran over to hug him.   
“Hey!” Carlos pulled away from his hug to glare at Dude. “Why didn’t you tell me? I know you could smell him, or hear him coming!”

“Because I hadn’t seen Peanut in a while and anyway, it would’ve spoiled the surprise!” 

Carlos looked between the two of them. “Dude, you’re supposed to tell the truth.”

“Okay,” the dog said. “He promised me bacon.” Carlos whapped his boyfriend on the chest.

“Don’t feed him fatty foods! And stop bribing him in general.” 

“I don’t give him much,” Jay said. Then he looked at Dude. “See you in a few minutes, I’ll give you the bacon then.” 

“Yay!” Dude bounded off. 

Carlos came in for another hug. “You’re turning my dog against me,” he said. Jay kissed the top of his head. 

“Naw. He loves both his dads. I just wanted to surprise you.” 

“Well, you did.” Carlos let himself be pulled in for a kiss.


	5. Outfit of Choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evie and Carlos are excited for the first day of fall.

Carlos and Evie had both been very excited about their first fall in Auradon. Evie had stayed up nights making clothes for the two of them. Mal and Jay were less excited, and basically let the two of them geek over it alone.

Evie’s outfits were stunning. She stayed to her usual color scheme, but with fall accents and warm accessories. She even made a tiara with fox ears.

Carlos was similar, no shorts this time but longer pants and even a fake fur vest.

It turned out they had overplanned, nobody at Auradon Prep were that fixed up. They stood out, which embarrassed Carlos. Evie merely shrugged and made plans to scale back a bit for the next day.

“I thought you looked good,” Jay said when Carlos came to their room and tossed the vest across the room. 

“I looked stupid,” Carlos said. “I thought everyone would dress up for the first day of fall. Turns out having seasons isn’t a big deal to them.” Carlos sat on his bed, staring ahead.

“Well, in my opinion, being jaded is their problem,” Jay said. He was reading a book for class, but put it down. “Don’t worry about it.” Jay came over and sat next to him. “You always want to look good, and you do. If they don’t get it, well. Not your fault.”

“Thanks.” Carlos looked over at Jay. “Maybe we’ll start a trend. New seasonal looks for the first day. Probably not though.” 

Jay put an arm around him. “You should still wear that vest though. It’s kinda hot.” 

“Checking me out?” Carlos laughed, but Jay’s didn’t back down.

“Always.”


	6. Forest Exploration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uma doesn't see the point behind the woods.

Uma wasn’t sure she understood what was so soothing about walking in the woods. 

It was just a lot of trees and flowers. The ground was uneven, with tree roots and sometimes she tripped. She couldn’t see the sky for all of the branches. And Jane had casually mentioned that sometimes the forest had snakes. 

“Yeah, so don’t step over a log unless you check first. It’s one good reason to have a walking stick.” Jane did have one, a pretty wooden one painted white to match her outfit. She looked very pretty, not that Uma would tell her.

“Okay.” Uma stopped, her hands on her hips. “I thought Auradon banished anything it didn’t like, but you’re telling me it has poisonous snakes?”

Jane made a face at her statement, which Uma had to admit was harsh. “Snakes are important for pest control. And anyway, they rarely bite people. You just have to be careful, that’s all.” Jane looked deflated, and Uma thought maybe she shouldn’t be taking her issues out on her.

“Okay, sorry.” Uma looked around. “What’s the point of this anyway? It’s just a bunch of trees.” She would have said more, but then Jane grabbed her wrist. Uma was just about to wrench her hand away, but Jane was pointing at something in the distance.

It took Uma a minute to notice them. Two graceful animals, one a baby. The baby had brown and white spots, the mother was brown, and they both had big twitchy ears. “Look,” Jane whispered. “Deer.” 

Deer. She had read about them, but had never seen one. They both stood in silence for a few minutes, until the mother and baby ambled on. Jane let go of her wrist. Uma stared at the spot where the deer had been. 

She didn’t know how long she had been standing, but Jane carefully touched her arm again, just to get her attention. “Do you want to go back now?” 

Uma looked at Jane, at her wide eyes and dark hair. Jane had asked her to come to the forest, not any of her friends, who she knew better. She wanted to do this with her. Uma shook her head. 

“I’m alright with walking a little more.” 

Jane glowed when she smiled, and then headed off ahead, with Uma following.


	7. Gentle Stream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Audrey takes Uma to her favorite place.

It was a calm, sunny day in Auradon. Audrey had taken Uma out to a spot that she said was her favorite. Uma had expected a spa or a shopping center. Instead, they were sitting on a blanket in front of a small brook. 

It was a beautiful area, Uma had to admit. “I never knew you liked nature so much,” she said.

Audrey smiled and shrugged. “We always came out to the cottage when I was a baby. I used to wander down here a lot. Grammie had me learn how to swim because she was afraid I’d fall in. I mean, look at this.” She gestured to the water. “It wouldn’t go over my head even as a five year old.”

Uma peered over at the stream. “Yeah, I’m used to ocean water with crocodiles in it. This is nothing. It’s pretty though.” 

Audrey nodded. “I helped get it protected. It turns out there’s a rare species of snail that lives in it. They don’t live anywhere else. After...well, after I came back to myself, Ben asked me if there was anything he could do to make it up to me. I told him to protect the stream from pollution, and he did it.” 

Uma sat there, stunned into silence. Audrey had a reputation for being dumb and superficial, even before she went evil. And now Uma had a smart, nature loving girl in front of her. She knew that Audrey was having a somewhat difficult time adjusting after what she did. Most of her old friends had abandoned her, and her reputation might never fully recover. 

“You know,” she finally said, choosing her words carefully. “That says a lot of good things about you. You could have asked for things for yourself, but instead, you chose to protect something so small. I have to admit I’m really impressed.” 

“Well, my godfairies are mostly responsible for that,” Audrey said. She was blushing slightly from the compliment, and it made her even prettier. “Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather taught me a lot about nature. They didn’t want me to forget this place, where my mother was hidden.” Audrey looked out into the stream again. “And you know, I didn’t want to disappoint them more than I already have.”

Uma took Audrey’s delicate hand in hers. “They’ve forgiven you. And if they haven’t, that’s on them. You’ve been working hard on yourself.” She squeezed Audrey’s hand. “I’m glad you brought me here. It’s good to learn about this side of you.”

“Thank you.” Audrey’s voice was a little hoarse, like she was holding back tears. Uma moved so she had an arm around the princess, and Audrey put her head on Uma’s shoulder. They sat like that for a while, listening to the burbling stream.


	8. Fishing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carlos doesn't really like Harry's choice of a date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Using this format to try out some new pairings. I like reading this one, so why not.

Harry liked to fish, always had. He remembered being small, with a rod hanging over the boat. His dad would be beside him, and he was told to be completely quiet. “Don’t scare the fish!” But his dad had to be quiet too, so it was probably the most peaceful times together they had. 

Harry still liked it, but it was clear from Carlos’s face that he did not. 

“What’s wrong there?” Harry said as he pulled up a nice bass. “Look at this. Dinner’s going to be good tonight.” Carlos turned his face away. “Carlos?”

“I just don’t like that,” he said softly. “I don’t like seeing an animal suffer.” 

Harry watched the bass as it flopped around, hook still in his mouth. Harry was still considering if he was going to bake or fry his catch, but Carlos looked like he might actually throw up. “Eh, when’d you become a vegetarian then?” He was sure he’d seen Carlos eat bacon at breakfast.

“I’m not. I’d like to be but, I still feel like I should eat what’s put in front of me.” Harry nodded. “But that doesn’t mean I want to watch my food being killed.” He turned back around. “Can you put it back?” 

Harry had been looking forward to fresh fish, fried in a mix of bacon grease and oil. Or baked with real butter. But Carlos had his pretty eyes on him, and soon Harry was removing the hook and putting the bass carefully back in the water. He watched as it pumped water of its gills a few times, then swam off. 

“Why did ye want to come with me, if you didn’t like it?” 

“I don’t know. I thought I could handle it. I always knew you were good at it.” Carlos was still standing a distance away. “But I was honestly hoping we didn’t get anything.” He moved so he was a little closer. “I’m sorry I ruined your trip.” 

“No, it’s okay.” Harry looked out at the pond they’d gone to. “This is a lovely spot, I’ll say that.” He carefully put his hooks and lures away. “Let’s head back then.” They started walking back towards Evie’s place. 

“So,” Harry said when they got there. “I’m sorry our date turned out to be something ye hated. Next time you get to pick.” 

“It’ll probably be something boring,” Carlos said. “I mostly like watching older movies and eating popcorn.”

“Well then, I’ve got lots of movies I need to see don’t I?” Harry smiled at the sweet boy in front of him, and watched as his dropped his head to hide a blush.


	9. Climbing Trees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The baby VK's go for a walk in the woods.

Auradon was a land full of beautiful and surprising things. Big buildings, good food, people who had manners. It was a lot to get used to.

But when Jane took her, Dizzy, and the twins to the forest, Celia nearly lost it.

The trees were so tall. It was almost too much to take in. Long, straight trees going up so high they blocked out the sun. Celia could only stare.

Squinty and Squirmy, on the other hand, found a relatively low tree and started scampering up it. Jane tried to stop them, or get them to slow down, but they’d already made it as high as the first branch before anyone could react. Then they sat up there and peered down. 

Dizzy squealed, and tried to climb another tree, but couldn’t get a foothold. The trunks were straight up and pretty long. Celia didn’t think she could do it either, even if she was dressed in climbing clothes. She just watched as the twins looked at each other, probably trying to decide to go higher or not. 

“Um,” Jane said, and Squinty and Squirmy looked back down at her. “Am I going to have the call the Royal Fire Fighters, or can you get down?”

The twins looked at each other, and then carefully left their branch and started climbing down, Squinty first. It took longer than climbing up, but they were both on the ground before too long. Then they stumbled over to Jane, standing right in front of her.

“Sorry,” Squirmy mumbled.

“Were we bad?” Squinty said, blue eyes huge.

“What? No. You just scared me. I didn’t know you two could climb so well.” Jane looked back up at the tree. “There’s no footholds hardly. That’s amazing.” The twins grinned, happy to be praised. Dizzy was still looking up at the trees, trying to find one she could climb. Celia went over and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry. There’s smaller trees closer to the school. If they let us climb them.” 

“Depends on the trees,” Jane said. “Some are pretty delicate and can’t be climbed. But we’ll find you two one if you want.” 

“I think I’ll just rest under them,” Celia said. “A seer has to get her rest.” 

“Sure,” Dizzy said, and Celia thumped her. 

“Girls, don’t,” Jane said. “Let’s just go back and get you four a snack. Who wants ice cream?” 

Squinty, Squirmy, and Dizzy took off toward the school without a backward glance. 

Celia looked up at Jane and shook her head. “Kids. Let’s walk back.”


	10. Cloud Watching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carlos and Jay watch the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm way behind on this, but as long as I finish before Christmas I guess I'm alright.

Jay was always up to try new things, especially in Auradon. But right now, he was squinting at the blue sky, wondering what the big deal was. 

“That’s it,” Carlos said. “Just look at the clouds, and try to find shapes in them.” 

“Why?” Jay had seen enough clouds in his life. Granted, these were different-fluffy and white and not gray and full of rain. “We’re just supposed to lie her in the grass all day?”

“Not all day, just taking a break is all.” Carlos smiled at him, then looked back up. “See that one? Looks like a horse.” 

Jay looked up, and grunted. It did kind of look like a horse. He looked around, trying to find something in the white puffballs. “Uh, that one...looks like a Tourney goal.” 

“You’re so boring. Everything is sports to you.” Jay turned over to look at his sassy boyfriend. He was staring at the sky still, looking way too smug. “Hey!” Carlos batted at his face to brush away the handful of grass Jay had thrown there. 

“Look, I’m trying okay? I don’t like this. We’re just doing nothing. I want to practice, or go for a walk.” Jay sat up, and was about to get to his feet. He could do something else right now. Carlos would probably go along with him, he usually did. But Carlos just looked at him. 

“Come on ‘Los, don’t pout at me. We can do other stuff that’s fun, shit, don’t give me the doe eyes. Okay, fine. Fine.” Jay laid back down, and Carlos snickered. 

“You’re a little shit, you know that?” 

“Just want to spend some time with you. Okay, now look. What do you see?” 

But Jay wasn’t looking at the clouds. He faced Carlos and smiled. “You.”


	11. Bus Catching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carlos meets his crush Jay on the bus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is kind of a loose SKAM au. It's more riding the bus than catching the bus too. But yes, Carlos as Isak and Jay as Even.

Carlos had to run, but he caught the bus. Good, this was better than when he missed it Tuesday. He had to go in town and pick up some groceries, simple stuff he could fix himself. Living in his apartment and fixing his own food was a learning curve. 

He was looking at his phone, when he felt a presence appear at his shoulder. He looked up to find...that guy. The new guy at his school. The guy he’d seen a few times, and talked to once. “Jay?” He felt his throat go dry.

“Carlos.” Jay was leaning in his space and smiling. “Going home?” 

“Um,” Carlos felt his words leave him. He was supposed to be smart, but right now he felt like an idiot. Jay was too cute and too close. “I was going to the grocery, actually. I need to pick up some coffee, and cheese.” His face burned. Why would Jay care about his groceries? 

“Yeah?” Jay said. “Your mom doesn’t buy it?” Carlos shook his head. 

“I live with roommates,” Carlos said, in a whisper. He didn’t like to talk about his crazy mother. “So um, just get it myself.” 

Jay grinned wider, if that was possible. “So you’re independent,” he said. “That’s great. Hey, do you want to get the cheese and come to mine? We can make sandwiches.” 

Carlos felt his stomach drop. Jay wanted to hang out with him? What else? “Yeah,” he said, too fast, too eager. But Jay just looked pleased with himself, and then Carlos felt Jay’s fingers brush the small of his back. 

_whoa_

Was Jay wanting something more? Carlos didn’t know how he felt about that. Jay must have sensed his reluctance, because he dropped his hand. Jay didn’t say anything, clearing wanting to pass the touch off as accidental. They stood awkwardly for a moment as the bus kept going. The stop for the grocer was the next one. 

When they got there, Carlos went to get off, and looked back at Jay. He nodded, and that was all the encouragement Jay needed. He smiled again, and followed Carlos off the bus. As they walked to the corner grocery Jay said “You still want to go to my place?”

Carlos looked at Jay, at his beautiful dark eyes, and felt a thrill of fear and excitement. “Yeah. Sure.”


	12. Picking Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chad finds Gil in a field of flowers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I'm gonna finish these. As long as I get them done before Christmas I'm calling it good.

Gil was missing from class, which wasn’t surprising. Chad went to find him-he had agreed to be Gil’s ‘Auradon buddy’. It was a system to help the new Isle kids adjust. And since Chad was himself in a fair amount of trouble for voluntarily siding with Audrey when she went evil, he had to do some good deeds to shore up. 

He finally found Gil in a field of flowers. He was sitting cross legged, and looking down at some daisies he had picked. “Hey,” he said, trying to sound light. Every Isle kid had an impressive startle response. “We have to go to class now.” 

Gil still stared at the flowers in his lap. “I killed them,” he said. “I only wanted to pick them because they were beautiful. But now they’re dead.” Chad didn’t know what to say, but he sat down carefully next to Gil. “Now those flowers you sat on are dead.”

“I think they’re just crushed,” he said. “They’ll recover after we leave.” Chad looked at the little bunch of daisies. “You didn’t pull them out by the roots,” he said. “Maybe they’re grow back.” He didn’t actually know if that was true. “Look,” he said. “We should go back. I don’t know if FG will understand, about the flowers.” 

“But what if she wants to send me back?” Chad had to think for a minute. Gil was very sensitive, and that was a big surprise to him. He was supposed to be stupid, but he actually thought about everything. And now he second-guessed all of his actions, because he wanted to stay at Auradon Prep. 

“She won’t send you back for picking flowers. Look, Dizzy makes flower crowns all the time. If she’s not sending back my step-cousin, she won’t do that to you. But she does care about attendance, so I think it’s time to go.” Chad stood up. After a minute, Gil stood up too. 

“This place is so pretty and confusing,” Gil said. “I just want to start over, but I don’t understand anything.” Chad nodded, wondering why Gil seemed to have guilt over flowers but not whatever he did as a pirate on the Isle. He figured he might ask one day, but not now. Now he had to just get him to class.

“Sometimes I feel I don’t understand anything either, and I’ve always lived here,” Chad said. “I’m going to tell FG you got lost.”

“You’ll lie?” Gil looked slightly impressed. “I thought you weren’t supposed to do that here.”

“It’s just a fib. So you don’t get in trouble.” Chad had decided to take being Gil’s buddy seriously after he realized that Gil was just nice to be around. Nobody else much was talking to him after him being, well, ‘traitor’ was the word that came up the most. So Gil had grown on him.

“Thanks. You’ve been really nice to me.” Gil walked with him, squinting in the sun. Most Isle kids weren’t used to direct sunlight still. “Do you want to come to Uma’s room later? We’re going to watch movies.”

Chad smiled. “Sure. I might bring some homework with me though.” He had a lot to catch up on. Nobody was helping him with his work anymore. “I’ll see you after class then.” Gil nodded, and they walked to the classroom in silence. When they parted ways, Chad thought about when he’d see Gil again.

Gil had grown on him, he figured.


	13. Picnic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evie plans a picnic for her new pirate friends.

“So, a picnic is eating outside, but not like eating outside on the benches at school.” Gil looked doubtful. He was sitting on a blanket in the field, looking at his tiny sandwich. “Huh.” 

“Yes,” Evie said. “I thought we should do something nice now that we’re not having to save the world together.”

“Still waiting for the nice part to start,” Harry said. He had rejected all the sandwiches, and instead just drank a bottle of cider he’d smuggled with him. Evie glared. 

“Harry,” Uma said, voice weary. “I know that Evie spent hours on fixing this food. She told me when I showed up to help pack it. Try the cucumber sandwich.”

“I don’t even know what a cucumber is,” Harry said, but he poked through the basket. 

“Do you have any eggs?” Gil looked hopeful. 

“I do actually,” Evie reached in and came out with a covered platter. “These are called deviled eggs, the yolks are mashed with mayo and relish.” 

“Oh, fancy eggs!” Gil took the platter, and Evie grinned, looking at Uma. 

“Good job girl, you made him happy.” Uma was happy too. Evie really tried so hard to please people, not a trait you saw on the Isle much. Harry was still going through the basket. “Harry, don’t mess up what she’s fixed.” 

Harry ignored her, taking a sandwich and lifting up the bread to peek. “Oh. Smoked fish. Thank ye. What are the little green things?” 

“Capers. They’re like tiny pickled berries. Adds saltiness.” Harry nodded in approval, then ate the sandwich in three bites.

“We’re gonna have to work on these guy’s manners,” Uma said. Gil had polished off the entire platter, and handed it back to Evie before flopping down on the blanket, hands on his belly. “You could’ve left a few for us, you know.”

“Sorry.” Gil didn’t look all that sorry. “It was really good.” He looked down at the grass. “Oh. I dropped my sandwich and some ants found it!” 

Evie jumped up and squealed. Harry laughed loud at that. “Love, they’re only tiny! You can’t be scared of them!” 

“They’ll get into the entire basket, we need to move!” Evie grabbed the basket. Uma grabbed the platter, and they took off back towards the school. “Stop laughing at me, Uma!”

“Sorry, it’s just so silly. And Auradon has ants too, didn’t know that.” Uma found a table. “Come on, let me get something, I’ve barely eaten. Do you have any more of that fish?” Evie took a deep breath, smiled, and handed her a sandwich.


	14. Sunset

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carlos and Jay watch the sunset in Auradon.

Carlos had wandered off by himself, to watch the sunset. It was still a treat, even after a couple of years in Auradon. He had his phone, and was fiddling with it, looking at photos some. Mostly, he just watched the sky, the phone there to keep his restless hands occupied. 

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been alone, but the sun was just about midway down when someone sat next to him. Carlos didn’t look over. 

“Hey,” Jay said. “Are you still mad at me?” 

Carlos didn’t look over, staring straight ahead. “Look, I’m sorry. It was stupid.” Jay was quiet for a minute. “So do you want me to go?”

Carlos didn’t look over, but he did speak up. “You can stay, I don’t care.” Carlos fiddled with his phone more, he had some texts he needed to reply to. In a minute. He kept watching the sky. 

“I never knew the sky could be that colorful,” Jay said. “I would read about it in books and I thought they were just making stuff up. Like, authors lie all the time, right? The sky couldn’t turn pink and purple like that.” Jay pointed at it. 

Carlos nodded. He had known it was possible, but seeing it had been a different experience. 

“I guess I thought most stuff about the would outside the Isle was a lie,” Jay said. “I would never experience it anyway, so who cared what it was like? And then we get here, and we’re just supposed to adjust. Right away.” 

“Jay...” Carlos wasn’t sure he wanted to hear this. 

“I know I do stupid shit, like I used to when we were back home. But I’m trying. I’m trying really hard. It’s like, you were meant to be here, you do everything so well. I get by because I can play Tourney and girls think I’m cute. But I have no idea what I’m doing.” 

Carlos bit his lip to keep from saying anything. He didn’t want to immediately forgive Jay, he didn’t. But Jay kept talking. “So I try to do the same things that worked before, and then I get in trouble or it makes my friends mad. And I just...” Jay held his hands out. “The world is so huge now, and complicated. And it’s all so, so hard.” 

Jay shut up for a while, and they watched the sun dip below the horizon in silence. As the sky turned darker, Jay got up. “I’ll see you later. I know you probably don’t want to talk yet. I’ll be in our room.” He started walking away. 

“Wait,” Carlos said. He got up and started walking with him. He still didn’t say anything, but he matched Jay’s stride. Jay brushed a hand against his arm. Carlos didn’t say anything, but he didn’t tell Jay to stop. 

“I guess I have to ask you to be patient with me,” Jay said. Carlos nodded, not sure if Jay could see it. From the hand he got on his shoulder, Carlos figured he did.


	15. Baking Bread

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Core Four share all tasks.

Carlos liked bread baking because it was applied science. The yeast had to be just right, if it was too humid the bread might be effected. He had to add the right amount of flour at the right time. It was calming if done right. 

Jay liked kneading the bread, his only contribution to it. Punching and slapping the dough was physical, something he understood. Not like the delicate waiting and making sure the water was just the right level of tepid. But kneading the dough into shape? That was fun. 

Evie liked decorating the loaves, braiding them and then brushing the tops with egg wash. She loved making things pretty. When they were done, she would drizzle glaze on the sweet loaves and decorate them with candied fruits. 

Mal would be the one to slice the loaves into perfectly even pieces. She wasn’t much of a cook and probably never would be. But she did like making sure her family had food. When they were done with their loaves and ready for dinner, Mal would pass the platter around so everyone could take the slice they wanted.

And when they had guests, Mal would get the majority of the compliments. But she would deflect them every time. “No, Carlos made it.” Or “No, Evie decorated it.” People were surprised, sometimes, but they were always gracious. 

And when the party was over, they all gathered in the kitchen, washing the dishes and spending time together. They shared their labor and their time, and it made them all happy.


	16. Afternoon Nap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evie finds a sick Mal napping in the sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This went a little off topic, but I liked how it turned out.

Evie came home from work a little early that day. She worked hard, but she had been able to delegate enough things to go home. Mal had been sick, and she wanted to make sure she was okay.

When she went upstairs, she found Mal asleep, sprawled out on the bed. The sun was coming through the curtains and lit her up with a glow. She looked a little pale and blotchy, but better than she had been. She was taking up nearly their entire bed, she was starfished on it so badly. It was so adorable. 

Evie didn’t want to leave her, but she went to get two cups of tea and some food to see if Mal would eat. When she got back, Mal was still asleep. She put the tray on the nightstand, and took her own cup of tea, sipping it while she watched Mal.

A while later, Mal woke up, squinting in the sunlight. She coughed for a minute, and finally noticed Evie.“Hey. What time is it?”

Evie smiled. “Almost four. I took off early to check on you. There’s some soup and tea if you want it.” Mal sat up slowly, and moved to the side of the bed. She tried the tea first, sipping some. “Good?”

“You put honey in it,” Mal said. “So yeah, good.” She drank some more. It was cold by now, but Mal wouldn’t complain about something like that. Evie planned to make her more, though. Hot liquids helped. 

When Mal was done with the tea, she started on the soup. Evie took her cup and went to fix another one. They were in the second house Evie had bought, and it had a nice staircase and a lot of room. It wasn’t so big that finding the kitchen was a chore, though. 

When Evie got back, Mal was propped up on pillows. She made grabby hands at the cup, and Evie laughed. “Thanks for taking care of me. I’m glad you don’t think I’m useless.” 

“You’ve never been useless.” Mal didn’t really have a job. When she left Ben for Evie, Auradon turned on her, considering her ungrateful. Ben didn’t hold a grudge, but he had to turn out her offer to be an adviser, since she was so disliked. 

Somehow, the dislike didn’t seem to apply to Evie, and her fashion empire kept growing. Mal mostly made art and stayed home. She was sensitive about it-being a stay at home wife wasn’t really for her. “Don’t worry about that now Mal, just get better. Maybe we can find something for you soon. Auradon will get over it eventually.” 

“Dunno about that. I guess we’ll see.” Mal sipped her tea. “Let’s watch a movie. No happy ever after stories though. Unless there’s any with two girls.” 

“Something that needs to happen soon, I agree,” Evie said. “Maybe you could write a screenplay.”

“I’m not that good of a writer,” Mal said, but she was smiling. “I do need to find something new, though, don’t I?” 

Evie flipped through movie channels and found a gothic style movie with pretty women in long gowns. “You do. You’ve hidden long enough. Auradon needs to get over itself. Now, lets just watch this and forget about it.” 

Mal leaned on Evie’s shoulder as the movie started. Evie squeezed Mal’s hand, and stopped worrying about Mal, her business and everything else. This time was just for them.


	17. Tea Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's just a tea. Celia can do this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one turned out longer and less fluffy. I thought about putting it up as a standalone, but it still works for the prompt and the characters.

Celia stared at her cup.

Fairy Godmother had organized a tea party for the girl VK’s, to teach them proper table manners in a way that she insisted was fun. So now Celia was looking at a table full of tiny sandwiches and dainty pieces of cake, but first, she had to learn how to hold a cup. 

“Now ladies,” Fairy Godmother trilled. “You wait until your tea is poured.” Celia looked around as women in white uniforms went around with beautiful teapots that matched the cups, and poured the tea without spilling a drop. “Next, add as much cream or sugar as you like, or ask your helper to do it for you.”

Celia looked at the little claw in the cubes of sugar, and figured she could do this one. She moved too fast, instinct telling her to grab the sugar before anyone else could. She snatched two cubes at once, dropping them into the cup and spilled some of the tea on the white tablecloth. 

Fairy Godmother looked over at her, still smiling but with a tense line in her shoulders. “Are you doing okay, Celia?”

“I spilled some,” she mumbled. She felt ashamed, over spilled tea. Over _nothing_. What was this place? But she still wanted a one of those tiny cakes. They were so pretty, with white glaze, so she stayed where she was. FG looked at her, and at the tablecloth.

“It’s only a few drops,” she said. “Nothing to worry about.” Then she gave Celia a forced smile. “You’re actually doing quite well.” Celia looked around. There was spilled tea on a lot of tables, and a few broken cups. They had just barely started. Celia took a deep breath, and then nodded at FG.

It was only a tea party. She could do this. Her father taught her how to be cool when scamming people. This was a different scam. No problem. She just needed to learn the rules, so she could use them to her advantage. Same as always.

“All right ladies. Now use your teaspoon to _gently_ stir the tea until your sugar is dissolved.” Celia didn’t know if the ‘gently’ was aimed at her. From the look of the place, probably not only her. This time, she watched Dizzy who carefully stirred her tea. Dizzy’s grandma might be a pill, but she did teach Dizzy a few things.

Celia matched Dizzy’s action, and she did not spill any more, or break her cup. When she looked up, there was one of the servers with a plate full of small rounds of white bread. One of them was put on her plate. It had what looked like dried fruit in it. “What is this?” 

FG smiled in her direction. “This is a scone. This is the first course in a tea. Then the sandwiches, and then the desserts. But first, I want all of you to pick up your teacup and take a sip.” FG got a cup, and held the delicate handle between her finger and thumb. “You lift it up, and take a small sip. It’s hot.” 

Celia smiled, and picked up her cup the way FG did. She went slowly, not wanting to spill any more. She lifted the cup to her mouth, and took a sip. 

The tea scalded her tongue, and she dropped the cup in surprise. It shattered on the floor, and some of the pirate girls started laughing at her. “Celia, it’s okay!” Dizzy said, but Celia was already running out of the room, Dizzy calling after her. 

Celia found an empty room and huddled in there. This was too hard. She would just go back to the Isle. It wasn’t so bad now, since the bridge was opened. Nobody cared about china cups there. She could just go to Dragon Hall and stay with her dad and fix the arcade games. 

Except, Dragon Hall was being shut down. Her daddy was keeping his arcade, for now, but it was undergoing repairs to bring it up to Auradon code. The Auradon influence had already changed the Isle so much that hiding wasn’t an option. So there was nowhere to go. 

Celia didn’t cry. She didn’t. But she felt like it then. This place asked for too much, wanted her to be something she wasn’t. She heard someone coming, and expected Dizzy. But it wasn’t.

“Celia.” Fairy Godmother looked sympathetic, not angry. “Can you please come back?” 

Celia shook her head. “I can’t. I don’t know what I’m doing. That cup was so pretty...” Celia covered her face. 

“It’s still just a cup,” FG said. “They’re already cleaned it up. We’ll get you another one. Was the tea too hot?” Celia nodded, and she felt her eyes prickle. “It was just an accident. Anyone could have made it.” 

“I should’ve put milk in it,” Celia said, and then to her horror, she actually started crying. “I don’t know what to do, I don’t know what people want from me. I thought this would be easy.” Celia wasn’t worried about dying on a rock prison anymore, she didn’t have parasites, she could take a hot bath. But there were expectations of her, so many of them. And they didn’t make any sense. 

“Oh honey, it’s okay,” Fairy Godmother said. “I know, this is difficult for everyone.” FG sighed then. “Maybe we shouldn’t have started at the top,” she said. “Maybe Auradon Prep isn’t for everyone. But, we wanted to give the Isle children the best education. And I know you can do this. You’re so bright. You tested the highest of your age group.” 

“Yeah, and I use it on swindling people. Or I did.” Celia wiped her eyes and tried to get control. “I should go back,” she said. “Daddy doesn’t like it when I quit. He told me to learn whatever I could.” So she could use it against Auradon, but she wasn’t telling FG that. And, her father seemed to be softening since he was released. 

“Okay, if you’re ready, we can go back.” Just then, Dizzy ran into the room and flung her arms around Celia. 

“Are you okay? Don’t be upset, the scones are actually really good! You can put as much jam and cream on them as you like!” Celia grinned then. Dizzy always made her smile. “Don’t worry about it, that was the fifth cup so far. Nobody cares. Just come back, there’s a lot more.” 

“Okay. If the scones are good.” Celia got up and took Dizzy’s hand. Fairy Godmother smiled at the two of them and followed as they walked arm in arm back to the tearoom.


	18. Ocean View

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The VK's go to the beach for a school trip with their classmates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. I've started skipping the prompts that I felt were too similar. This was meant to be an art challenge, not writing. I don't think I'll finish this by the Dearscendants challenge, but I will still try.

Carlos stared at the ocean.

He’d seen the ocean many times in his life, but there it had been a barrier, holding him on the Isle. It was gray and full of crocodiles. This shore was pretty and was full of their fellow students. The AK’s were all strolling on the beach, smiling and eating ice cream and dodging seagulls. 

Meanwhile, Carlos, Jay, Mal and Evie stared in front of them. Carlos looked around and saw they were all as enthralled as he was. Evie looked like she was going to cry. Mal had a look of puzzlement, as if she didn’t think the view was real. Jay had his arms crossed, still on guard even as he couldn’t take his eyes off the waves.

Carlos stared and stared, at the waves and the sun overhead. At the seagulls and the shells on the beach. After a while, Lonnie ran up to them. “Guys, look over here!” She pointed. “There’s some dolphins!” 

“What are those?” Jay said as they hurried after Lonnie. They wound up a little further down the beach, where a lot of the students were pointing and exclaiming in excitement. Carlos looked out and saw sleek creatures swimming and playing in the water. They would sometimes jump out of the water, and Carlos laughed while Evie clapped her hands. 

“Wow,” Mal said. “I’m actually impressed. Are they happy? They look happy.”

Doug was nearby, and nodded. “Dolphins are very smart animals. So yeah, it’s believed that they do things just for fun. They play.” He turned back to the sea. “It’s exciting to see them. They’re not rare, but they don’t always come this close.” 

“Nice. Better than crocodiles,” Jay said, grinning. The dolphins started moving further away, and the AK’s started to disperse, grumbling that they didn’t stay longer. The four of them stayed where they were, still looking at the ocean.

Some time later, Ben came to get them. “Hey, we’re going to grill out, have some burgers,” he said. “And maybe a bonfire. And um, you guys are a little burned. You might want to get out of the direct sun for a while.” 

Evie looked and her arms and said “Oh no! And I wore sunscreen!”

“We all did,” Carlos said. “But we forgot to re-apply.” 

“It wore off? We didn’t even swim.” Jay looked at his skin. “Damn, I’m a little burned and I’ve got the darkest skin out of this crowd.” They all headed to the shade, and Evie pulled out a bottle of lotion to help with the stinging. 

They all had burgers and hot dogs as the sun began to set. Carlos and Jay helped build the bonfire. When it was ready, they sat around as some of their classmates got out a guitar and sang songs. 

Carlos sat next to Jay, leaning into him. Nobody was paying attention to them. “This was a good day,” he said. 

“Yeah, good to have good days.” Jay took Carlos’s hand, and they watched the fire. “Maybe I should learn to swim,” Jay said out of nowhere. “Doug told me there’s places where they let you swim with dolphins.”

“Wow. That sounds wild.” Carlos wasn’t sure he wanted to do that, but it was probably his leftover fear of crocodiles that informed that. Dolphins didn’t look so bad, but they were still big animals. “I can help you learn to swim, so could Ben if he has the time.”

“Maybe. It would come in handy anyway.” Jay looked back at the dark waves. “It’s so beautiful here. Hard to learn to trust it.” 

Carlos squeezed Jay’s hand. “Yeah, I know.” He felt that too. “But maybe we’ll get used to it.”

“Maybe,” Jay said, smiling.


	19. Favorite Fruit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The VK's and the fruit they like best.

Gil liked grapes the best. They were the first fresh fruit he’d ever had, and he could eat them while walking or doing other things. They were sweet and didn’t need anything else-no dip or sugar. They were cute and perfect. 

Evie, not surprisingly, loved apples. Non-rotten apples were the best. She liked to slice them and eat them on a plate, sometimes with cheese, but mostly alone. She couldn’t help it if she thought just biting into it wasn’t mannerly. Old habits died hard. And it would mess up her lipstick.

Mal loved strawberries and always tried to claim them if they were part of a fresh fruit spread. Mal knew she needed to share, but they were just too delicious. Most people let her have them. Eventually, she stopped eating them all. (Getting a massive stomachache might have helped her learn some restraint.)

Carlos liked any fruit he could dip in chocolate.

Jay didn’t always eat healthy. But Aziz convinced him to try a fruit salad with papaya, and that was it. Jay would seek it out, getting it whenever he could. 

Evie taught Uma how to roast coconut in the oven. Uma started having it at at every meal, including breakfast. 

Harry had the hardest time getting used to fresh food. He strongly preferred pickled or salted foods. He would eat pickled cherries long before he tried fresh ones. But once he did try them, he would sneak them whenever he could. (Learning to have something he wanted without having to steal it was also a learning curve.)

Sometimes the VK’s would gather and have parties where they served mainly fruit. They tried to invite the AK’s, but they didn’t seem to get it. 

It was just fruit, after all.


End file.
